Without a doubt, The Hound started off Season 4 with a bang. Working his way into our hearts with some of the best one liners the show has seen, and serving up brutality to those most deserving. Rory McCann tells Rolling Stone, that he was definitely feeling the love from the crowd at Season 4’s New York Premiere.

“That reaction! You’re wondering if the comedy worked, or the tension, but then you could feel the crowd respond. Bear in mind, this is made for people watching it in their living rooms, but there was a packed-out cinema; they were howling and shouting and screaming. Some of the lines they’ve given the Hound this year are incredible.”

Rory is surely happy to know that all of his hard work has payed off. And it was hard. Drinking countless liters of ale on command can be more than a little taxing, on Rory and the new set assistant alike.

“When I had to drink in that tavern scene, that’s David and Dan going “Give him another beer! Fill it right up to the top! Can you down another?” I was really fit at the time, wasn’t drinking, working out, there was definitely no sugar in my body — and suddenly I had six or seven liters of flat ginger beer that day. I had to go off into the woods to make myself sick. They had this new helper, I didn’t know who he was, and they told him ‘We’ve lost the Hound! We’ve lost the Hound!’ I’m on my hands and knees with my fingers down my throat trying to get this bloody soda out of me. He came up like, ‘Are you — ‘ [growls] ‘FUCK OFF!’ [Laughs] He ran away into the woods. [high-pitched, scared helper voice] ‘He told me to fuck off!'”

Rory also reveals that it’s easier getting into character than you might think.

“I’m the first guy on set because of this fucking make-up. So I’m getting done for three hours, then I’m getting my breakfast, and I’ve been up for six hours before there’s even a suggestion of getting on set. I end up this big fucking grumpy bastard most of the time. ‘Kill that guy? Sure.’ [Laughs] It’s very easy to be the Hound.”

And if you’re wondering what the script said for the very last scene, as Arya and The Hound ride away with smirks intact:

I just love Rory! He didn’t start out as my head canon Sandor Clegane (book reader first) but he certainly has replaced what was there to begin with. And it’s always nice when your favorite character is being played by someone who seems to be a genuinely good guy who’s grateful for the break he caught with GoT.

Some folks in a prev thread were speculating that the Hound & Arya would end up in or near the Vale, where he would get his grievous wound during a mountain clan skirmish. Does anyone think that Arya is going to leave him there to die, gallop away to Saltpans, while he disappears into the Vale mist? …Only to reappear a season or two later, healed and nearer Sansa, just when she needs help. For some reason, I think the Hound functions better around a Stark (and vice-versa). Crackpot? (some of this has floated around Westeros)

My audition was a scene of the Hound describing to Sansa how he got his burned face. It happens in the book, and they were gonna film it in the first episode: “Look at me — this is the reason I am the way I am.” Then they decided not to do it. David pushed Dan into my trailer, and I was like,“Why are you pushing the wee guy in? You got something to say?

As a rule (a very strict rule), if I happen to run into famous people, I pretend not to know who they are to and respect their privacy – I don’t know if I could abide that rule with Rory. I want to be his friend and hang out with him at the pub so bad! Of course, as much fun as he seems to be, he also seems to like to be a bit scary…I seem to remember reading some early interview with him where he tells of picking up two hitch-hikers where he retells of them seeming scared to death of him. The bit quoted above seems to support that. And his audition-video on youtube for his part in GOT certainly had me jumping in my chair at one point.

As crazy as it sounds, I am paranoid that the Hound will have these great scenes and killer lines this season so that everyone will love him (even more). And then he will DIE. Not like, fake maybe-he-is-and-maybe-he-isn’t mostly dead, but really, really dead. Like Robb-dead. That’s just being paranoid, right? RIGHT???

Wow the new site looks like someone farted their brains out and shit their pants at the same time…but anyways…Rory is the man! Great actor, one of the stalwarts of this show and his chemistry with Maisie is pure tv gold!

I’m not sure what I did other than point out that glorifying eating too much and then forcing yourself to puke as something “funny” is not cool. It’s a serious issue and I was perfectly serious when I said I didn’t approve of it.

Somehow, that is me being an asshole? Look in the mirror, mon ami. You’re the one with the problem.

Strange, nowhere in here do I see him telling you to shut up. Seems more like he disagreed with you, then indicated that he felt you were over-reacting. In response, you went on about free speech instead of defending your point, then told him to fuck off for some reason. I understand that this whole words thing can be confusing though.

KG: I’m not sure what I did other than point out that glorifying eating too much and then forcing yourself to puke as something “funny” is not cool. It’s a serious issue and I was perfectly serious when I said I didn’t approve of it.

I didn’t exactly see it as “glorifying”, tbh. I saw it as a guy who hasn’t had a beer in three months who now has a choice: Try to get rid of the stuff in his belly, so that he can keep on acting, or be too drunk to do his job. I’m pretty sure he would have preferred not to have to make that choice.

What alternative interpretation folly is this?!
MA’AM, YOU ARE HAMPERING KG’S BOLD STAND AGAINST THE NAYSAYERS, AGAINST THE TIDE OF SOCIAL CONFORMITY, AGAINST THE SUPPRESSION OF IDEALS! THE FELLOW HAS A POINT TO PROVE AND WHAT BETTER PLACE TO DO SO THAN ON SOME RANDOM WEBSITE COMMENT SECTION!

McCann is a gifted actor. And D&D know how to write for his character. The Houbd really is one of those rare characters who are on a par when you compare book and show.

I’m confident that he won’t die. The only way that happens is if they get rid of the entire Ungregor subplot, and that’s never going to happen. He and Arya will probably get separated (I could see them being seperated by an attack, with the Hound distracting their attackers so she could escape). And the Hound will just walz right up when Jaime is in the neighboorhood

Doug MacRay: I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we’re gonna hurt some people.
James Coughlin: …Finally, we’re going to cast Mads Mikkelsen as Euron

I think they will find a clever way of including his “resurrection/rebirth” in a later season. No worries. I think he will suffer serious wounds and make Aria leave him. My guess is for Aria it will be less mercy, and more urgency. But it will be a melancholy scene, indeed.

Anybody else having problems with screens not jumping while “reply”-ing??? The new look is cool enough, but navigation sucks on my phone still. And now just kinda sucking on my laptop.

Why were they making him drink that stuff anyway, at no point does the viewer actually see the inside of the drinking horns. It would have worked with water just as well. Or just pretend drinking, with a thimbleful of beer you can have dribble over the beard picturesquely.

As someone who has currently experienced serious gallbladder shenanigans I can sympathize with Rory … you don’t want anybody bugging you with your finger up your throat …

BlackTalon:
Why were they making him drink that stuff anyway, at no point does the viewer actually see the inside of the drinking horns. It would have worked with water just as well. Or just pretend drinking, with a thimbleful of beer you can have dribble over the beard picturesquely.

As someone who has currently experienced serious gallbladder shenanigans I can sympathize with Rory … you don’t want anybody bugging you with your finger up your throat …

In the scene, the “ale” was visible through the drinking horn. Also, they needed to do so, to make the drink dropping down on his armor while drinking to give it the right barbaric look.

Somehow this thread became as violent and disturbing as that whole arya/hound scene in the episode. Lucky this wasn’t a thread about Jamie and Cersei or everybody’d be fucking their siblings at this point.